ITALIAN, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY | FARNESE FLORA

Collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein since at least 1767 (Schloss Federsberg); Liechtenstein Palais, Vienna, until 1944;

Schloss Vaduz, Liechtenstein;

Christie’s Amsterdam, Liechtenstein: Property from the Collection of the Princely House of Liechtenstein, 1 April 2008, lot 129  

V. Fanti, Descrizzione completa di tutto ciò che ritrovasi nella galleria di pittura e scultura di Sua Altezza Giuseppe Wenceslao del S.R.I. Principe Regnante della casa di Lichtenstein, Wien, 1767, p. 36, no. 17;  

J. Dallinger, Description des Tableaux, et des Pièces de Sculpture, que renferme la Gallerie de son Altesse Frangois Joseph Chef et Prince Regnant de la Maison de Liechtenstein, Wien, 1780, p. 259, no. 32;

 E. Tietze-Conrat, “Die Bronzen der fürstlich Liechtensteinischen Kunstkammer”, in Jahrbuch des kunsthistorischen Institutes der k. k. Zentralkommission für Denkmalpflege, XI, 1917, p. 94, fig. 74, illus.;

G. Wilhelm, Meisterwerke aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, Luzern, 1948, p. 54, no. 230

Luzern, Kunstmuseum, Meisterwerke aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, 1948, cat. no. 23

The monumental ancient figure of the Farnese Flora was discovered in Rome before 1532 and entered the Farnese collection where it remained in the family’s palazzo until the late 18th century. It was then moved to Naples, where it remains in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. The head, part of the neck and the right arm as well as the left forearm were missing from the Roman marble, and were restored by Guglielmo della Porta (c. 1500-1577) around 1555 who added a floral garland, effectively making it a figure of Flora. A pen and brush drawing, probably by Nicolas Poussin, in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, provides an idea of what the sculpture would have looked like in the early 17th century. 

The antique marble was the subject of a reduction by Giacomo Zoffoli (1731-1785) made after another model by Vincenzo Pacetti in 1773. Popular during the Grand Tour, examples are recorded today in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Saltram Park, Devon, and Schloss Wörlitz, Sachsen-Anhalt.

The present bronze, however, belongs to an earlier series, generally catalogued as Florentine, second half 16th century. Very few examples are known, all showing a lesser degree of invention than is seen on the present one, all depicting the goddess holding a flower garland and barefoot. Four known versions include one in: a private American collection, the Bargello, Florence, the Museo Riminaldi, Ferrara and in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (currently as Roman). In her seminal essay on the Liechtenstein Kunstkammer, Tietze-Conrat catalogues the present bronze – documented in the Princely Liechtenstein Collection from at least 17675 - as Florentine, circa 1600.  

This bronze, unlike the other versions, shows clinging drapery highlighted by matt punching, giving a textured finish to the surface. Her left hand, which unlike in the marble restored by Della Porta, turns towards her body and she holds a cornucopia of flowers, an artistic licence that differs from both the garland of the 16th century restoration, and Albacini’s nosegay which can still be admired today. Moreover, here the goddess is not barefoot but wears elegant sandals.

Elements such as the casting and after-work on the present sculpture, which make it unique among the series, point to a probable Roman origin.